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Lebanese media reported massive traffic jams as residents rushed to leave the area.
By United with Israel Staff
Israel signaled a major escalation against Hezbollah on Monday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to strike terrorist targets in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district after days of sustained rocket and drone attacks on northern Israeli cities.
In a joint directive, Netanyahu and Katz said the strikes were being carried out in response to Hezbollah’s repeated violations of the ceasefire and its continued attacks on Israeli civilians.
The announcement triggered a large-scale evacuation from Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s main stronghold in the Lebanese capital, with Lebanese media reporting massive traffic jams as residents rushed to leave the area.
Shortly afterward, Netanyahu released a video message making clear that Israel intended to expand its response to Hezbollah’s attacks.
“There will not be a situation in which Hezbollah attacks our cities and citizens while the terror headquarters in Dahiyeh remain off limits,” he said.
Katz delivered a similar warning, declaring that “if there is no quiet in the north, there will be no quiet in Beirut.”
The latest developments come after several days of heavy Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks targeting communities across northern Israel, raising fears that the conflict could be entering a new and more dangerous phase.
An American official told Saudi outlet Al-Hadath that Hezbollah bears full responsibility for the current and any future escalation, while also criticizing the Lebanese government for failing to address the terrorist organization.
According to the report, the United States informed Lebanese officials that Israel’s increasingly aggressive military actions stem from Lebanon’s failure to disarm Hezbollah and enforce its authority over the group.
The official reportedly said Lebanon could protect Beirut and Dahiyeh from further escalation if it took serious action against Hezbollah’s leadership, which would demonstrate that the government is genuinely committed to confronting the organization.
Iran also weighed in on the crisis. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the ceasefire between Iran and the United States applies “on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” and argued that any violation in one arena would constitute a violation of the broader ceasefire. He added that the United States and Israel would be responsible for the consequences of any such breach.
The warning follows a similar escalation last week, when the Israeli Air Force carried out a precision strike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district for the first time in more than three weeks. The strike came after repeated Israeli warnings that Hezbollah’s drone and rocket attacks could eventually trigger military action inside the Lebanese capital.
At the time, Israeli officials indicated that patience with Hezbollah’s continued attacks was wearing thin, while reports suggested the United States had sought to restrain Israeli operations in Beirut out of concern that a wider conflict could undermine sensitive regional diplomacy.
Monday’s developments suggest those concerns may now be taking a back seat as Israel moves toward a more direct confrontation with Hezbollah’s leadership and infrastructure in Beirut itself.
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